Song of the Day 7/19: BJ Leiderman, “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!” theme

Guest post by Nathan Arizona

Donald Trump has pointed his gun at the head of National Public Radio (and PBS) for months, and Congress has finally pulled the trigger for him. Stations around here have said they expect to scrape by without federal funding, but who knows? So it seems like a good time to think about how much listeners would miss NPR’s news, its high-brow game shows, its mulling over of current events.

But for some the most painful gap might be where the music used to be. It’s not on very often, mostly to introduce shows and segments. But its recurring presence can be comforting and set the rhythm of your day when you don’t even realize it.

NPR’s mellow instrumental music was written mostly by one guy named BJ Leiderman. About 40 years ago he made a deal with NPR to pay him $5,000 per theme. The Virginia native also recorded a kind of folk-rock album in 2016 under his own name, with guest appearances by noted banjo player Bela Fleck.

NPR listeners already know what it’s like to miss Leiderman’s music. In 2019 NPR changed his “Morning Edition” theme to appeal to what it considered its younger, more diverse audience by moving into “new territories.” The new version did incorporate some of Leiderman’s theme, but it was buried in the bombast. A lot of NPR regulars were outraged.

This video features Leiderman and a symphony orchestra playing some of his NPR hits. First up is the theme for “Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me!” It’s followed by a snippet from “Car Talk,” then the “Marketplace” theme, “Weekend Edition” and, at 4:50, “Morning Edition” – his own version.